Own The Original.

This is the original ‘Buy Bitcoin’ sign held behind Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen during her 2017 Congressional testimony.

Hastily drawn on a yellow legal pad, this iconic drawing marked Bitcoin’s intrusion into the global monetary landscape. The sign is one of few widely-recognized physical Bitcoin artifacts, given Bitcoin’s virtual nature. Beloved by Bitcoin enthusiasts, the sign has spawned countless memes, derivative works, and imitation stunts. Mrs. Yellen has maintained vocal criticism of Bitcoin.

The ‘Buy Bitcoin Sign’ is one of, if not the most legendary pieces of Bitcoin memorabilia. Up there with The Times Chancellor newspaper but who knows how many of those are out there.

- cryptograffiti

An unidentified man held up a sign saying “buy bitcoin” during Fed Chair Janet Yellen’s testimony Wednesday before the House Financial Services Committee. Bitcoin subsequently climbed toward session highs and traded 3.7 percent higher, at $2,418.46, as of 2:27 p.m. ET, according to CoinDesk. The unidentified bitcoin proponent, whose stunt was visible on television, was removed from the hearing room. Holding up the sign violates the House committee’s rules. Committee staffers told CNBC they didn’t know the man’s name.

- CNBC, News Article - July 12, 2017

Auction Events

Auction Start: Thursday, April 18, 12 pm ET (16:00 UTC)

Auction End: Wednesday, April 24, 7 pm ET (23:00 UTC)

Pubkey Bar in NYC will host the auction ending at 6pm at 7pm on Wednesday April 24th. The sign will be on public display at Pubkey throughout the auction.

Artist Statement

When Bitcoiners ask me about the sign, I tell them, “You’d have done the same in my seat.” Yes, only I attended the hearing, drew the sign, and flashed it for the camera. However, it was the network spirit which seized the image and fabricated the memes. The full poetry of the stunt was far beyond my devising, therefore, my attitude can only be one of post-authorship. Bitcoin was massively rupturing into the halls of institutional finance in 2017. Any Bitcoiner worth their sats would have told you so. It’s good to finally liberate this number from my sock drawer and offer it back to the Bitcoin public. The message was subversive then, but now merely obvious: Bitcoin is flowing. Control is dead.

- Christian Langalis, “Bitcoin Sign Guy”

Lot Description

The ‘Buy Bitcoin’ sign comes with its original yellow legal notepad containing notes on the hearing, monetary policy, Bitcoin, and also an unseen rough draft.

• Dimensions: 8.5 x 11.75 (in)
• Weight: 0.5lbs
• Materials: Ink Drawing on Legal Pad

Note: The page with the sign drawing was removed from the notepad shortly after the hearing. It has since been reattached with clear archival wire.

Buyer may select a certificate of authenticity in the form of their choosing (paper certificate, timestamp, Ordinal, etc.).

No reserve.

Free worldwide shipping. Buyer has the option to purchase full coverage insurance.

Notes: A run of 21 replica editions was created in 2019. They have all sold out for an average realized price of 0.8 BTC. The works have been widely collected among the Bitcoin community, and have been found on display in the offices of Chaincode Labs, Castle Island Ventures, Morgan Creek, Pubkey NYC, Coin Center, Blockchain Capital, and Paradigm, and in the private homes of other high-profile Bitcoiners.

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